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SINGAPORE - Online academic platform East Asia Forum has been issued a correction order for publishing an article containing multiple false statements in relation to Singapore’s governance. They include the handling of the 38 Oxley Road dispute and the trial of Workers’ Party (WP) chief Pritam Singh.
The Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma) office said on Jan 22 that it has directed the platform to put up a correction notice for the article, following instructions by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Indranee Rajah.
The original article – written by Associate Professor Michael Barr from Flinders University’s College of Business, Government and Law – was titled “Singapore’s new prime minister entangled in old politics”.
The Australia-based platform will be required to carry a correction notice at the top of the article, and also on its social media sites X, Facebook and LinkedIn, where it shared the article.
The notice must provide access to the Government’s correction on its fact-checking website Factually. “This will allow readers to read both versions and draw their own conclusions,” said the Pofma office.
The article published on East Asia Forum on Jan 14 “communicates assertions which are false and misleading”, said PMO.
The first assertion was that the Singapore Government had misused the resources and time of the Cabinet, Parliament, police, Urban Redevelopment Authority, and Building and Construction Authority to pursue Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s private agenda against his siblings and turn his family home – 38 Oxley Road – into a memorial to his father, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, and himself.
The police investigations involving Mr Lee Hsien Loong’s brother, Mr Lee Hsien Yang, took place because a disciplinary tribunal found that he and his wife, Mrs Lee Suet Fern, had lied under oath and had committed possible perjury.
“The couple refused to cooperate and left the country,” noted the PMO, which added that SM Lee has long recused himself from all discussions on 38 Oxley Road.
“Since then, he has not been, and is not, involved in the decisions made by the Cabinet or any government agency in relation to 38 Oxley Road.”
Additionally, no decision has been made yet on 38 Oxley Road, with the National Heritage Board planning to carry out a study of the site to assess if it is worthy of preservation as a national monument.
Next, the article falsely alleged that WP chief Singh was prosecuted without basis, in pursuit of motives other than proper enforcement of the law.
The PMO clarified that the conduct of both Mr Singh and WP vice-chairman Faisal Manap during the Committee of Privileges hearing in December 2021 was referred to the public prosecutor. The hearing was about former WP MP Raeesah Khan’s lies in Parliament that she had accompanied a rape victim to a police station.
The public prosecutor subsequently levied Mr Singh with two charges of lying to a parliamentary committee.
The PMO noted that during the trial, the defence made a submission of “no case to answer” in respect of Mr Singh’s two charges.
“However, the court called on Mr Singh to enter his defence on both charges, which confirms that there were grounds for prosecution,” said the PMO.
It added: “The trial was held in open court, and Mr Singh gave evidence, as did other witnesses. Closing submissions have been made. The court will render its verdict in due course.”
A verdict on the case is expected on Feb 17.
More at https://www.straitstimes.com/singap...false-statements-relating-to-spore-governance
